Age-Related Increase in Plasma Urea Level and Decrease in Fractional Urea Excretion

Abstract

This study confirms in humans an age-related increase in plasma urea levels (r = 0.62; P < 0.001; y = 0.229x + 18.26) and no correlation between plasma creatinine and age (r = 0.06; NS). Fractional urea excretion (FE urea) decreases with age (r = −0.41; P < 0.001; y = −0.226x + 55). Comparing urea and creatinine clearances, measured in 19 young and in 15 old women, a larger decrease of urea clearance (−56%) compared with the creatinine clearance (−43%) was observed as expected, explaining the lower FE urea in the elderly. In old women, the daily urea excretion was 27% and the daily creatinine excretion was 42% lower than in young women. An age-related decrease of same magnitude in both creatinine production and creatinine clearance explains why plasma creatinine remains stable with increasing age. The observation of a more important decrease in urea clearance (56%) than in urea production (27%) in older women led to an expected increase in plasma urea of 29%. These observations incited a comparison of biochemical profiles from younger and older patients with the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH). Young patients with SIADH present lower mean plasma urea (18 ± 8 mg/dl) and higher mean FE urea (58 ± 14%), compared with both young control subjects (mean plasma urea 27 ± 7 mg/dl; mean FE urea 46 ± 10%) and old patients with SIADH (mean plasma urea 29 ± 8 mg/dl; mean FE urea 44 ± 15%). Physicians must realize that frankly low plasma urea values and high FE urea values can be expected only in young patients with SIADH, whereas old patients with SIADH will present values of plasma urea and FE urea in the same range than young control subjects. However, old patients with SIADH show still lower mean plasma urea values and higher mean FE urea values, compared with old control subjects (mean plasma urea 39 ± 8 mg/dl; mean FE urea 36 ± 9%), in whom plasma urea values between 40 and 50 mg/dl must be considered as usual.